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<div class="MsoPlainText"><span style="">Dear
Green Friends, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText"><span style=""><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">Tomorrow there is going to be a $3 million election for
the Los Angeles School Board and this crazy campaign is another example of why
the combination of relentless right-wing Republicans and clueless Democrats
leads to perdition.<span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText"><span style=""><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText"><span style="">Here I go again.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText"><span style=""><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText"><span style="">I
posted a commentary on California Greening <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText"><span style=""><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText"><span style="">Want “Reform”
in Los Angeles? – Go Green <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText"><span style=""><a href="http://cagreening.blogspot.com/">http://cagreening.blogspot.com/</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText"><span style=""><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText"><span style=""><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText"><span style="">I also
posted a more “Democrat-friendly” Diary on the Daily Kos<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText"><span style=""><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText"><span style="">L.A.
Schools Election – Tales of Clueless Dems<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText"><span style=""><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/3/5/212910/4472">http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/3/5/212910/4472</a></span></div>
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<div class="MsoPlainText">Alex Walker <br>
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<div class="MsoPlainText">P.S. to sosfbay-discuss: <br>
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<div class="MsoPlainText">Surfing the Web I saw a report about campaign expenditures posted on the web site for the Milpitas Post in Santa Clara County:<br>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><font color="#3333ff"><span style="font-family: Arial;">"Mayoral
candidate Henry Manayan raised nearly $17,300 more than Mayor Jose Esteves for
Milpitas' top city position for the Nov. 7 California General Election,
state-mandated campaign finance statements filed Jan. 31 indicate. </span></font><font color="#3333ff"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></font></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><font color="#3333ff"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In
his failed bid for mayor, Manayan's campaign raised a total of $88,903.32,
loaning $40,000 of that amount to his own campaign. Manayan spent the entire
amount. <o:p></o:p></span></font></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><font color="#3333ff"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Mayor
Esteves raised a total of $71,607 largely from private donors and developers,
and spent $73,098.10, reports indicate.<o:p></o:p></span></font></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><font color="#3333ff"><span style="font-family: Arial;">At
the outcome of the race, Esteves garnered 5,746 votes to 4,310 votes earned by
Manayan. Milpitans cast 17,825 votes during the latest election."</span></font></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><font color="#3333ff"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br>
</span></font></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">That computes to $20 per vote for Manayan's losing campaign!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Mayor Esteves' donors included: Badru
Valani, a real estate developer from Apton Properties of Fremont; Pleasanton-based architecture and planning firm Dahlin Group; and DK Consulting of Walnut Creek, a building systems and
engineering firm. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;">Since some of us are so concerned about upholding the key values of decentralization and grass-roots democracy, it would be nice if somebody quit obsessing about Washington and <font size="-1">Baghdad long enough to write letters-to-the-editor about the corruption of democracy in California. </font><br>
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<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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